Like their predecessor in the days of horse transportation, saddle bags for motorcycles are all weather carrying containers.
Unlike their predecessors, saddle bags for motorcycles need to remain secured in place on the motorcycle at high speeds and take some rough jars and jolts without being dislodged from their mountings.
Motorcycle saddle bags are made of quality materials to be stiff and durable. They are, when compared to conventional luggage, odd shaped, heavy and somewhat awkward to carry.
It is an object of this invention to provide an all-weather carrying bag that serves as saddle bags when mounted to a motorcycle and as luggage when dismounted from the motorcycle.
It is further an object of this invention to provide a means for readily attaching the bag to a motorcycle and for detaching the bag from the motorcycle.
It is further an object of this invention to provide a mounting means which may be secured to a structure and the mounting means is configured so as to cooperate with the attaching and detaching means of the bag so that the bag may be quickly attached to or detached from the mounting means.
It is further an object of this invention to provide the saddle bags and mounting means described above wherein the saddle bags and the mounting means are configured so as to permit them to serve many roles and provide many auxiliary functions.
Other objects will be made apparent by the following specifications and claims.
The invention is for a saddle bag and mounting plate and for a coupling means for mounting the saddle bag to and detaching the saddle bag from the mounting plate.
The saddle bag has a substantially planer back panel and a continuous gusset which forms the sides and the bottom of the bag and the gusset is joined to the back panel by means of an outward projecting seam and the back panel is provided with at least one female member of a quick release coupling secured to the back panel of the bag near the top of the back panel inside the saddle bag.
The mounting plate has a substantial planer surface having a J-shaped lip formed at the bottom of the plate for receiving and retaining a portion of the outward directed seam at the bottom of the bag, a means for securing the plate to a structure, and at plate and alignable with the female member of the quick release coupling secured to the back panel of the bag when the outward projecting seam of the bag resides in the J-shaped lip.
The bag when out of engagement with the mounting plate can serve as luggage and is provided with D-rings for attaching a carrying and/or pulling strap, wheel receivers for receiving detachable wheels, a piggy back external pouch securable to the gusset for carrying accessories such as straps and wheels and locks and the like.
The mounting plate is provided with means for securing the plate directly to a flat surface, and the plate is provided with means for securing transitional links to enable the securing of the mounting plate to a variety of different style motorcycles and other vehicles by using different transitional links for different styles of vehicles.
The prior art is replete with saddle bags for motorcycles and the means for mounting them to motorcycles. U.S. Pat. 2,423,003 to Buegeleisen, is representative of motorcycle saddle bags and mounts wherein the saddlebag is configured to receive and engage with a mounting plate wherein the means of securing the saddle baa is in the interior of the bag.
The art provides numerous examples of saddle bag-like luggage that is attachable to and detachable from two wheeled vehicles such as bicycles and motorcycles. U.S. Pat. 4,387,835 to Golzer is representative of luggage that is secured to vehicles as saddle bags and serves as luggage or utility baggage when detached from a vehicle.
It is well known in the hose coupling art to provide a coupling wherein a male member in the shape of a circular rod is provided with a circumferential groove and a female member is provided with a spring loaded sliding sleeve and a ring of spherical detent elements that are free to separate and permit the male rod to enter the ring of detents so that the detents can reside in the circumferential groove when the sleeve is retracted and are maintained in interlocking engagement therein when the sleeve is resiliently returned to its operating position. U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,484 to Sanderson Jr. is an example of such a coupling employed as a means for coupling two elements of a working combination.
The art abounds in baggage and luggage that is provided with pouches, compartments, wheels, carrying and towing straps and handles and attachments for the same, along with the structures to support them. U.S. Pat. 5,240,106 to Plath is representative of such luggage or baggage.
This invention has aspects in common with the above cited references, and performs many of the functions performed by the devices of the cited prior art, however, the combinations of this invention are not found in the prior art and the mode of operation of the elements of this invention is different from that taught by the prior art as will be made clear by the following disclosures.